Cancel/Rebill/Freeze (Bill - Bill Segments)

If problems are detected with a frozen bill segment, it should be canceled and a new bill segment should be created. We refer to this process as cancel / rebill. Refer to Cancel / Rebill Incorrect Bill Segments for more information.

Before you cancel / rebill, you'll probably need to fix the cause of the problem. The following table describes common problems and how to fix them.

Problem

How To Fix It

The wrong rate was used

Go to Service Agreement - Rate Info and correct the rate.

The wrong meter read was used

Add a meter read with a more powerful read type for the service point in question.

The wrong meter was connected to the service point

Go to SP / Meter Installation and correct the SP / Meter linkage. Then go to Service Agreement - SA / SP and indicate the appropriate start read for the service point's correct meter.

A contract rider was applied incorrectly

Go to Service Agreement - Rate Info and correct the contract rider information.

The wrong tax exemption amount was calculated

Go to Service Agreement - Rate Info and correct the tax exemption information.
Note:

Multi-Cancel/Rebill Saves Time. If the cause of the problem impacts many bill segments related to a service agreement, you should use the Multi Cancel Rebill transaction as it allows you to cancel / rebill an unlimited number of bill segments at once.

Credit Notes. Using the cancel/rebill functionality causes the cancel and rebill details to be swept on to the customer's next bill unless you Reopen the bill. If your organization requires cancellation details to be presented to the customer separately from the new bill, you should not use the Rebill functionality. Rather, you should issue a Credit Note and then generate a new bill containing the revised charges.

The Cancel/Rebill/Freeze button is used to cancel, rebill and freeze one or more bill segments. This button is enabled if you select at least one row from the bill segments grid that's in the Frozen state AND the bill is not written off.

Note that you can only select a bill segment for cancel/rebill/freeze if ALL bill segments in the grid are in the Frozen state. Note, you can use the Status Filter to restrict the type of bill segments in the grid.

When clicked, the Cancel/Rebill/Freeze window opens.

  • Cancel Reason defines why the bill segment(s) are being canceled.
  • Accounting Date defines the financial period to which the canceled and new bill segments' financial transactions are booked. The current date defaults when the window opens.
  • Check Allow Estimates if the system is allowed to estimate consumption if it can't find a meter read.
  • Use the Billing Option to define how the system looks for meter reads:
    • Select Use Schedule if the system should select reads based on the SA's SP service cycle schedule. Refer to How The System Determines How Much Was Consumed for more information.
    • Select Use Cut off Date if the system should only select reads from the end date of the existing bill segment.
    • If you prefer to have the system use the consumption details used on the original bill segments, check Use Old Read/Item/SQ. If this switch is on, neither Allow Estimates nor Billing Option is relevant.
Warning:

If the cause of the rebill is an incorrect rate and the new rate requires service quantities that were not calculated when the bill was originally calculated, do not turn on Use Old Read/Item/SQ. Why? Because you want the system to derive new service quantities during the rebill process.

After specifying the parameters, click Calculate to cancel, rebill and freeze the selected bill segments.

Note:

Errors. Bill segment errors may occur when you cancel / rebill the bill segments. For example, if you change the SA's rate to a rate that requires a unit-of-measure that doesn't exist on the SA's meter, a bill segment error is generated. If this occurs, you must go to Bill Segment - Main for the pending cancel bill segment and use the Undo action to remove the offending bill segment (and restore the original segment to the Frozen state). Alternatively, you can drill down on the Error bill segment and use the Regenerate action after correcting the cause of the problem.

There is no Undo. Unlike cancel / rebills performed on Bill Segment - Main, there is no Undo action. This is because this transaction freezes the newly created bill segments after it cancel/rebills; whereas the bill segment transaction lets you examine the new bill segment before you freeze it. If you made a mistake, simply correct the cause of the mistake and then cancel / rebill again. The erroneous financial transactions are automatically suppressed on the next bill produced for the customer.

A confirmation window summarizes what the system just did (i.e., it shows the number of bill segments that were deleted / generated).